Review: WITHIN SHADOWS – ‘Mind = Enemy’ [Album Stream]

WITHIN SHADOWS was originally a solo project started by Sean Farias (Vocals, Guitar), starting in 2012 . The Canadian band then started to morph from a solo project into more of a band. The project became a two-piece band once drummer Jordan Heffernan joined in 2014. At the end of Summer 2015, they began to collaborate with Jordan’s very good friend Brad Tiessen. Brad and Jordan are lifelong friends, which provided WITHIN SHADOWS with a perfect fit to have him in the band shredding guitar. They recently added latest member, bassist Jacob Bailey nearing the end of Summer 2016. They finished and released their debut EP ‘Release The Disease’ in November 2015. This is where this band sets themselves apart from others in the music industry. The profits made from CD sales went directly to the Harrow Food Bank as a donation from the band. They band also mentions that the donation was made possible by the fans, friends and family who supported the album. The band now has a brand new LP that released December 21, 2016 titled ‘Mind = Enemy’. The band truly prides themselves on creating a variation of different styles within their music. The songs range from easycore, to heavy metal, to hardcore, to light metal, to pop punk to ballad instrumental, to djent and more. After reading that you probably think this album is scatterbrained and all over the place but it’s a truly cohesive album that works.

The first thing that stands out on this opening track is the lyrics. “Get Up” has a truly simplistic lyrical flow. Often bands can create lyrics that require critical thinking to understand them and their complexity. While i’m a fan of those complex lyrics as well, sometimes you just wanted to sit down and listen to a song and have the emotion within the lyrics have an impact on you without the effort of deciphering. WITHIN SHADOWS really brings you that here. The content of these lyrics also create a fraternalism. Heartbreak and bad relationships can create a brotherhood amongst people and this song really plays on your heart strings. “Soulless” begins with some keys and quickly develops into a more industrial sounding track. Again the band keeps you hanging on every word with lyrics like “My body, Is now empty. There’s no soul, deep inside me. I’m my own, worst known enemy. I got to know, what’s wrong with me.” The track also has a strong double bass drum that kicks extremely hard. Jordan Heffernan has one of the hardest and most rhythmic kicks I’ve heard in quite sometime. The vocals at one point have an echo and it creates this haunting vibe as you hear Sean Farias’s screams. While that song takes the bands heaviness to an extreme they also take things in a different direction as well with the acoustic song “Burden”. The song shows the softer side of Sean’s vocals, and the acoustic guitar working by lead guitarist Brad Tiessen is really showcased here. It’s not often that acoustic riffs can really capture the attention of a metal head, but let me tell you now that these really kept my focus. They also have these unpolished feel that you can hear the scratching at the strings that just adds another element to the song. The next song takes things back to the heavy approach with the re-issue of the 2016 track “Demons”. This album is a non-stop roller coaster of changes. Their varying styles allows you to listen and relisten to this album without it ever feeling old. You want something a bit more mellow? Click to the next track! Something heavier you say? Click to the next track! WITHIN SHADOWS really is a cornucopia of styles and it’s bound to capture your attention.

About Fist

Greetings and salutations. Call me Fist, I'm a proud Kentuckian and I've used metal to help me get through the suffering of living in the bible belt. I am an encyclopedia of metal. I'm a fan of all types of metal. My main goal here is to help people find more music they will fall in love with. Hope you enjoy our words! \m/